NBA Draft 2015: 5 second-round bargains
By Brad Rowland
J.P. Tokoto, SG/SF North Carolina
Defense is important.
It is extremely unlikely that J.P Tokoto ever becomes anything better than an average offensive player at the professional level, but in the NBA Draft, value can be gleaned from a variety of different areas. With that on the table, Tokoto may have the best defensive upside of any wing player in this class.
At 6-foot-6 and 196 pounds, Tokoto is still very thin from a frame standpoint, but the former Tar Heel measured with a 6-foot-10 wingspan at the combine, and he plays extremely long. Throw in a 40.5-inch vertical leap and an established pedigree as a “stopper” in college, and Tokoto’s upside comes into place.
It is fair to say that Tokoto must add bulk and strength in the NBA in order to take on the mindset of a defensive stopper, but he has already been successful in gaining weight during college, and an NBA training regimen can do wonders. Offensively, Tokoto isn’t anything resembling a finished product, but scouts feel as though he can add range to his jump shot. It must be stated that he needs the ability to knock down, at the very least, the corner three to be successful in the NBA, but if Tokoto lands in the right place, that isn’t a grand leap of faith.
In the highly specialized world of an NBA role player, one elite skill is often all that an athlete needs, and J.P. Tokoto can (and will) defend.
Next: Joe Young